Closure member



1966 I R. R. AMESBURY ETAL 3,279,643

CLOSURE MEMBER Filed Jan. 5, 1965 Inventors. Baker? R. flmeszzury rJulius B. Wilhelm? y 0 (26 mm United States Patent 3,279,643 CLOSUREMEMBER Robert R. Amesbury, Wellesley, and Julius B. Wilhelmi,

Nantasket, Hull, Mass., assignors to United-Carr Incorporated, Boston,Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 423,458 3Claims. (Cl. 22024.5)

The invention relates generally to plug members adapted to provide aseal closure in an apertured workpiece and more specifically to providea plug or closure member for sealing an opening in gas and/orliquidcarrying containers.

While it is envisioned that the invention might be employed in numerousdiverse applications, the design disclosed herein was motivatedprincipally by the need of the brewing and beverage industries for animproved plug for use in containers for malt or carbonated beverages.Thus for purposes of illustration only the invention will hereinafter bedescribed with reference to its application as a closure member for abeer container.

Those familiar with the brewing art will appreciate that metalcontainers used therein require a relatively large access opening tofacilitate draining and cleaning of such containers to render the samereusable.

The same persons will likewise be familiar with the filling procedurewhich generally includes the steps of purging the container of airutilizing carbon dioxide (CO gas under pressure, adding beer underpressure while simultaneously bleeding off the gas and thereaftercapping the beer-filled container.

Shortly after the container is capped CO gas comes out of the beersolution and, in effect, forms a head on the beer under a very lowpressure, on the order of 5 p.s.i. at 35 F. So long as this conditioncontinues the beer is protected and will retain its freshness andeffervescence until the container is tapped. However, should the CO gasleak from the container and air leak in, the beer will become stale andfiat, in a comparatively short period of time. In addition, should thecontainer be stored at room or higher temperatures the pressure exertedby the CO will increase substantially.

Consideration of the foregoing remarks makes it quite evident that aclosure member for any access opening in the container must hermeticallyseal said opening to prevent the escape of the CO and prohibittheentrance of air into the container. Further any design for a closuremember should incorporate a locking feature in order that the memberwill be capable of withstanding relatively high internal pressure fromthe contents of a container without becoming dislodged. On the latterpoint it would be well to consider that a spontaneous blow-out of aclosure member due to a pressure build-up in the container, whileundoubtedly resulting in a loss of the beer, might also cause injuriesto persons or other objects located in the vicinity thereof.

Tests conducted utilizing the present invention have indicated that itwill withstand pressures of up to 160 p.s.i. before blowing out orbecoming dislodged.

In the past access holes in beer containers, which are usually made ofaluminum or in some instances stainless steel, have been secured bydriving tapered wooden plugs into the opening. This method has in mostinstances required that a heavy metal plate be welded to the containeradjacent the opening in order that the container will not be damaged bythe force of a blow(s) necessary to seat the wooden plug. While the lastmentioned requirement of course increases the cost of a container whichis passed on from manufacturer to brewer and ultimately the consumer,the most notable deficiency has been the all too frequent loss ofcontents because the CO Patented Oct. 18, 1966 "ice that the brewingindustry is currently considering marketing smaller containers (on orderof one gallon) of beer for home consumption, in which instance theavailability of a plug such as that disclosed herein takes on addedsignificance.

The presently disclosed device is seen to constitute a unique andwelcome solution to each of the problems recited above and thus itsobjectives are as follows:

(a) To provide a simple, effi-cient and inexpensive closure member foruse in an apertured workpiece;

(b) To provide a closure member which will hermetically seal an openingin a liquid and/ or gas carrying container;

(c) To provide a closure member which possesses a locking featurerendering the member capable of withstanding considerable pressure fromthe contents of a container;

(d) To provide a closure member which can be installed by the uniformapplication of pressure from a press or other appropriate tool, therebyreducing the possibility of damage to the container and obviating theneed for protective plates, etc; and

(e) To provide a closure member which possesses all the above-mentionedcharacteristics and yet can be removed to obtain access to thecontainer.

Other objects and advantages of the novel closure member will becomeevident from a reading of the following detailed description inconjunction with a viewing of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the novel closure member;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an installation depicting the closuremember partially seated in an apertured workpiece;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an installation depicting the closurememberfully seated and locked in an apertured workpiece; and

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4.

, As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the'closure member 1 includes'an innerbarrel portion 2 having one end reversely bent at 3 to provide an outerperipheral wall 4 which in turn terminates in an outwardly anddownwardly extending peripheral flange 5.

The inner barrel portion 2 defines an internal cavity 6 and extendsupwardly in an outwardly flared configuration to its free end 7. Thelatter being dished downwardly and inwardly and presenting an abruptperipheral edge 8.

The outer wall 4 which is circumferentially spaced from the barrelportion 2 has an upwardly and inwardly extendi-ng circumferentialshoulder 9 opposite said barrel portion and an outwardly and downwardlyprojecting peripheral shoulder 10 adjacent the reverse bend 3.

A solid, circular stud 11 is molded integral with and extends upwardlyfrom the center of said barrel portion 2 adjacent the inwardly dishedfree end 7. The purpose of stud 11 will be considered in detailhereinafter.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 depict the closure member 1 in conjunction with asupporting workpiece 12, for example, an aluminum container. Theworkpiece is provided with an extruded access hole 13 which is definedby a downwardly (inwardly) extending flange 14.

FIG. 3 depicts the initial step in securing the closure member 1 whichis to force the member into the opening In the locked position the outerperipheral wall 4 is ineflect squeezed between the flange 14 and theinner barrel portion 2 due to the outwardly flared configuration of thelatter. Further, the peripheral flange 5 is drawn tightly against thesurfaces of the workpiece adjacent the aperture 13 and theprojectingshoulder is rolled outwardly to more firmly engage the freeend of the flange 14. Each of the aforementioned factors co-operativelycontribute to the eflective hermetic sealing of the opening in theworkpiece.

In carrying out the axial depression of the inner barrel 2 the stud 11serves mainly as a reference for properly orienting the tool (not shown)employed. Since it is desirable that the barrel be depressed uniformlyin a vertical direction, best results have been obtained utilizing apress having a hollow tool of internal diameter slightly larger than thestud 11. As the press is lowered the tool envelops the stud 11 andengages the dished portion 7 of the barrel adjacent the base of the studand thence continues downward until the position of FIG. .5 is reached.The stud 11 also serves as a convenient means for grasping the closuremember with a pulling tool when the occasion to remove same from theworkpiece arises. same stud serves to strengthen the center of thebarrel portion to prevent reverse buckling when the closure member issubjected to pressure from the contents of a container. I

The locking capabilities of the invention cannot be too highlyemphasized. To that end it would be well to point out that it is, forall practical purposes, impossible to,

manually remove the closure member from the workpiece. Further thelocking is so effective that crude attempts to remove the member bygripping and pulling on the stud 11 will in many instances cause asevering of the dished end of the barrel portion before the remainder ofthe closure member withdraws from the opening. Moreover, tests conductedunder severe and highly unrealistic conditions have proved that thedevice provides an absolutely positive seal at the opening 13.

With reference to the foregoing description it is to be Further the Iwardly from the free end thereof to provide a convenient clearlyunderstood that what has been disclosedherein represents only a singleembodiment of the. invention and is to be construed as illustrativerather than restrictive or limiting in nature; the scope of theinvention being best defined by the following claims.

What is claimed: 7

1. An installation comprising in combination a workpiece having aninternal wall defining an aperture therein and a closure member seatedin said aperture, said closure member including a barrel portion havingone end reversely bent to form an outer wall, said outer wall having anoutwardly extending flange at one end thereof overlying portions of saidworkpiece adjacent said aperture and an inwardly projecting shoulderadjacent said flange, said barrel portion having an outwardly andupwardly flared configuration terminating in a free end having an edgein abutting engagement with said inwardly projecting shoulder such thatportions of said outer wall are compressed against portions of said walldefining said aperture, said inwardly projecting shoulder extendinginwardly over the edge of said free end to lock said member in saidworkpiece.

2. An installation according to claim 1 wherein said outer wall has anoutwardly projecting shoulder engaging portions of said workpieceadjacent said internal wall defining an aperture therein.

3. An installation according to claim 1 :wherein said,

barrel portion has a solid, operating stud extending upmeans forremoving said closure'member from said workpiece.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,706,007 3/1929Van Alstyne 220 X 2,218,581 10/ 1940 Levan.

2,396,035 3/1946 Billing 215-52 X 2,487,635 11/ 1949 Carpenter 215-52 X2,757,816 8/ 1956 Fraser.

2,808,957 10/1957 Bradley 21552 X 2,950,835 8/1960 Alvear 21552 X3,021,975 2/1962 Sarafinas 215.52' 1X 3,131,825 5/ 1964 Sarafinas 220-245 3,163,311 12/1964 Stolk 21552 X FOREIGN PATENTS 448,570 5/ 1948Canada.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN INSTALLATION COMPRISING IN COMBINATION OF WORKPIECE HAVING ANINTERNAL WALL DEFINING AN APERTURE THEREIN AND A CLOSURE MEMBER IN SAIDAPERTURE, SAID CLOSURE MEMBER INCLUDING A BARREL PORTION HAVING ONE ENDREVERSELY BENT TO FORM AN OUTER WALL, SAID OUTER WALL HAVING ANOUTWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE AT ONE END THEREOF OVERLYING PORTIONS OF SAIDWORKPIECE ADJACENT SAID APERTURE AND AN INWARDLY PROJECTING SHOULDERADJACENT SAID FLANGE, SAID BARREL PORTION HAVING AN OUTWARDLY FLARED